Jess kissed me, and I pulled her close while we stood in the foyer for a few moments together.
“That should give you my answer.”
“Hm,” I said. “Maybe you should try that again. I couldn’t hear you.”
She swatted at me and then turned toward the inside of the house. There wasn’t any furniture, but I’d researched several interior designers to contact after the house was officially in my name. I imagined what it would look like fully furnished to Jess and my standards. I glanced over at the fireplace and could see Jess and I snuggling by the fire with Gina.
Jess went into the kitchen. I could just hear Gina’s laughter as the three of us made meals together. This place was perfect.
I walked several steps behind Jess, just as Sami had done for me, giving Jess the time to experience the house on her own.
But unlike Sami, Jess turned and held out her hand for me. I took it.
“If this is going to be our house,” she said, “let’s talk about it together.”
“Sure,” I said.
“I love the fireplace,” she said as if she read my thoughts earlier.
“Over here is my favorite spot,” I said, bringing her out onto the terrace. We stood against the railing, both of us looking out into the distance.
Jess closed her eyes and inhaled. “It smells like home.”
“Let’s check out the rest of the place,” I said.
We walked through the living room into the family room. The sizes of the rooms were a bit smaller than what I was used to, but I would trade that house any day for this one. We could have lived in a two bedroom shack, as long as we were on the ocean, I didn’t care. I’d never been a beach kind of guy, but with retirement came relaxation. And I loved spending time on the warm sand when I was on vacation. Now I couldn’t live without it.
We headed upstairs. The hallway split into two sides, one side leading to the master suite and the others to the other three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms faced the street. It still had a fantastic view of the neighborhood. But the two rooms that were going to be mine and Gina’s faced the ocean.
I smiled, thinking of how amazing Gina’s life was going to be from here on out. She would have two parents and live in the most beautiful place.
Jess and I walked through all the rooms, leaving the master for last. We talked about what we were going to do with Gina’s room and the possibility of making one of the
bedrooms into an office.
“You didn’t know there was a third floor?” I asked. I wanted this house to be the place where people from my life visited, not somewhere to squish everyone in. I wanted a proper home that could accommodate as many people as we wanted.
“No,” she said.
“It’s a smaller floor but perfect for an office for me. There’s another room up there as well for you to do what you want. Maybe a sewing room?”
Her eyes sparkled at the idea.
“I think of everything,” I said.
She chewed on her lower lip and took my hands in hers. “I want to see the bedroom.”
I walked into the room first, going to the balcony overlooking the ocean. “This view. You can’t beat it.”
I turned, but Jess wasn’t next to me. I walked inside, and she stood in the middle of the bedroom, but her eyes were locked on mine.
“Is everything okay? Do you like it? We can decorate it with whatever you want.”
“What I want to know is where the bed is going to be?”
I scanned the room. “Well, probably over here,” I said.
“Show me.”